18 GRC Professional • Autumn 2013
COVER
STORY
Ninety nine
per cent of our
sports people
are good role
models but they
don't receive
a great deal of
recognition.
"Young athletes take direction from coaches
and other administrators in their sport and club,
so we can't say that because they are part of a
[sub-optimal] culture that they have grown up
with, that they should accept it.
"Sport will readdress its moral and ethical
code, but we do need to understand what the
culture of an organisation means. Many of the
fans or administrators didn't know what was
happening, but that is not an excuse."
For all that, Speed says sports players are more
accountable than company directors with 24/7 media
following every move of star players; scrutinising
their performance in public and how they front up
to questioning from the press. They must also subject
themselves to drug testing and administrators looking
for criminality, and they are not allowed to bet.
"Sports will now have greater resources and
protocols in place to manage integrity and some
will tie it to funding for elite athletes at the
expense of other sport, including the grassroots
area. This in itself will have its own implications."
Speed also says the focus is more often than not
on the negative, particularly you ng, testosterone
overloaded male players who binge drink, take
drugs and show a lack of respect for women.
He believes that if there is more focus on the
positive side, such as the time sportsmen and
women devote to charitable causes, that would give
them more encouragement to be good role models.
"Ninety nine per cent of our sports people are
good role models, but they don't receive a great
deal of recognition" he says.
"A conglomeration of incidents have brought
Australian sport to a head, and the public is asking if
the organisations are doing the right thing. There is
significant education on values, teaching respect for
women, anti-racism--all these sorts of things--but
perhaps we need a different and more concerted
approach to stop these happening in future."
ACI SAYS: For an industry used to scrutiny
only on an individual level, there is a significant
piece of cultural change management ahead of it.
Organisations that run and associate themselves with
sports people will have to mature into the realisation
that they are "big business" in themselves and apply
professional business management systems to ensure
the resilience of the industry and learn to anticipate
risks and change to stem a cultural epidemic. •••
Sponsorship prerequisites
Sponsorship is a multi-billion dollar business,
and sponsors are loathe to talk on the record
about what they will or won't sponsor and the
reasons for their decision. But given the high cost
of funding sport and the high exposure sponsors
receive through large audience participation,
banks, credit card companies and myriad
businesses that feed into the sporting industry,
are eager to get involved.
But whether to sponsor or not is no light matter.
One global company prominent in the sponsoring
stakes said there is a lengthy list of requirements
to be met that must be "congruent with our blue
box values."
The essentials
• Highest priority is return on investment
• Brand visibility--opportunities to create
business and brand awareness globally and
gain further acceptance of the product
• The country where sponsorship is being sought
from, its political stability, whether it is a
developing country (China is hot), its population
base and that population's level of interest
• Global prominence (or otherwise)of the sport or
product requiring endorsement
• The audience, its profile/income, who it will
attract and potential new clients
• Is a competitor vying for the same sponsorship
and if so what are the consequences of losing
that sponsorship? (e.g. countries pushing one
credit card over another)
• Being able to control the sponsorship terms,
from securing the rights of sponsorship renewal
to compatibility with other sponsors at an event
to ensuring product exclusivity and having the
right resource support
• Hospitality opportunities for clients
• Customer-client relationships potential
• In sport the recipient(s) is a good team player,
treats people with dignity, has integrity and is
a good citizen at work and in private life (Tiger
Woods erred here, cheating on his wife, trashing
his reputation).
Nice to have list
• Advantages of global exposure
• Corporate entertaining and marketing
opportunities
• Relationship building with other sponsors
• Employee involvement -- the morale of getting
everyone involved.
Weighing up the risks
• What are the consequences of sponsorship
turning sour through bad sportsmanship or
scandal
• The effect on customers, shareholders,
employees
• Minimising the risk of non-performance
• The cost of lost opportunity.